


Love Mail

by shslprisoner



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Love Mail, M/M, Valentine's Day, gokuhara love mail., let my kids be happy, this is really sappy and stupid thanks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-19 16:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13708251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shslprisoner/pseuds/shslprisoner
Summary: Gonta Gokuhara,You are one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. You are passionate in all you do, and lovely every moment you do it. I may not be much of a poet, but you are brighter than the sun and every day I spend with you is a perfect one.Gonta blushes. So it’s a love letter.I wish I had the courage to tell you these things in person, but I’m a coward. I hope that someday you’ll come to love me the way I love everything about you. Your smile turns me inside out, and every time you speak to me I feel so lucky that I even know you.And then it ends. There’s no name. Gonta flips it over, confused, but there’s nothing on the back either. Who writes a love letter and doesn’t sign it?//Gonta has an admirer. He's not really sure how this happened.





	Love Mail

**Author's Note:**

> \- oooooohhhhh its jude back at it again with these sweet sweet goshis
> 
> \- this is sappy and also two days late but i do what i want
> 
> \- dont pay attention to time in this the days Dont Make Sense but im too lazy to fix them
> 
> \- tsumugis in this one??
> 
> \- just read it man im tired

There is a letter on Gonta’s desk when he arrives at school on Monday morning.

 

The letter is white, and it sits face up in the center of his desk. There’s a small ladybug sticker keeping the envelope closed. When he turns it over, it has his name on it.

 

Gonta puts his bag down and takes a seat. There are some people already in the room, but most of his more nosy classmates show up later into the morning, and for once Gonta is happy that no one is talking to him. Hoshi spared a cursory glance in his direction and Shinguji waved silently, but neither Maki nor Yumeno even looked in his direction when he actually walked through the door.

 

He fumblingly peels off the sticker sealing the envelope. The letter inside is folded perfectly precisely and Gonta wonders how much thought was put into this one peice of paper. He carefully unfolds it and starts reading. The writing is in neat, red rows, and the letter reads:

 

_Gonta Gokuhara,_

 

_You are one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. You are passionate in all you do, and lovely every moment you do it. I may not be much of a poet, but you are brighter than the sun and every day I spend with you is a perfect one._

 

Gonta blushes. So it’s a love letter.

 

_I wish I had the courage to tell you these things in person, but I’m a coward. I hope that someday you’ll come to love me the way I love everything about you. Your smile turns me inside out, and every time you speak to me I feel so lucky that I even know you._

 

And then it ends. There’s no name. Gonta flips it over, confused, but there’s nothing on the back either. Who writes a love letter and doesn’t sign it?

 

The door to the classroom slides open and Gonta quickly refolds the paper and shoves it into his pocket. Miu stumbles into the classroom yelling something lewd to Kiibo and Kaede, who trail behind her. She slams into Hoshi’s desk and he grumbles but lets her tumble over it to get to her seat by the window. Miu always sits as far away from the teacher as she can.

 

Kaito enters a few minutes later and pesters an unreceptive Maki before moving on to make idle chat with Kaede. Shuuichi shows up next, then Chabashira, who attempts to wake up a dozing Yumeno. Kaito satisfies himself with dopily staring at Shuuichi as the detective dopily stares at Kaede. Kaede herself dopily stares at Maki, who is turn in dopily staring at Kaito. Gonta marvels at the things one can notice when one is being ignored.

 

That’s not to say that Gonta is usually ignored. He has a lot of friends. Ouma likes him (he thinks), and Hoshi goes out with him to movies pretty often. Tsumugi, of course, likes him. And Shuuichi’s whole gang likes to hang out with him! He’s not unpopular by any standards. Plus, he’s got his friends in the other classes. Souda, Gundham, Nekomaru, they all like him. Kiyotaka and Mondo are usually too involved with each other to pay attention to him, but he’s sure they wouldn’t be averse to getting lunch. It’s not to say Gonta isn’t usually perceptive, either. People usually take him for an idiot, and he is! He assures you, he is stupid! But that does mean he doesn’t notice and take in everything around him. He’s just not preoccupied with Ouma’s shenanigans at the moment.

 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Hurricane Kokichi crashes into the classroom with even more force than Miu did. This time, however, his shouts direct him straight to the object of his excitement.

 

Ouma sidles up beside him, flashing a smirk that nearly wipes the nervous (and almost entirely faked) grin off of Gonta’s face. “So…” He starts, as if every eye in the classroom wasn’t on them. “I see that note on your desk is gone.”

 

“Ahaha, Gonta…” He stalls. “Gonta, uh. Did… did Kokichi-san put that on Gonta’s desk?” Ouma bends at the middle, sprawling himself over the table like it’s his own personal king bed. He hums, like he has to think about it, putting a obnoxiously pale finger over his obnoxiously pale cheek.

 

“Hmmm, lemme think for a sec,” He says, and Gonta is so tired already. “Nope! Just saw it before class. But mayyybeee that’s a lie! So I wouldn’t get your hopes up about whatever I may or may not have written inside.”

 

Ouma gets up, whipping his freshly-dyed indigo hair into Gonta’s face in one swift motion. He waves his fingers over his shoulder as he swaggers off to his next victim. Gonta slumps into his seat. He fidgets with his tie, then his nails, then simply taps his fingertips against his knees with force that he’s sure Nekomaru would’ve loved to see used out on the pitcher’s mound last Saturday.

 

He gives himself a moment to think. After all, who in the world leaves romantic love letters on their crush’s desk besides for in movies? It’s cliche as all get out. In fact, he’s confident he’s seen this plot in some romcom before. Kaede or Hoshi would both probably know which one.

 

Of course, he’d love to know who wrote it. It’s late January, so he supposes they may give him something on Valentine’s Day. Or confess, he thinks for a moment, but he’s honestly not sure how he would react to a love confession. He’s, well, he hasn’t really looked at any of his friends in a romantic light before! He knows Nekomaru had a brief infatuation with him, but in all honesty, most of his friends are already in relationships. Souda, Ishimaru. He guesses Shuuichi’s gang all having crushes on each other counts.

 

That leaves most of the school who could’ve left the note. He thinks that maybe he should narrow it down a little. He supposes that based on the phrasing, it’s someone close to him, someone he spends a lot of time with.

 

Ryouma, he thinks for a second, but he quickly perishes the thought. Though it certainly wouldn’t be… unwanted, per say. Listen, maybe he wasn’t telling the whole truth when he said he hadn’t had any romantic inclinations!

 

It’s just that, well, Hoshi’s not exactly the kind of guy you asked out for a dinner and a movie. Trust Gonta, he’s tried. Hoshi said yes, of course, because Ryouma Hoshi was not one to miss a movie that came with a free trip to one of the city’s nicest restaurants. At the end of the night, Gonta was left even more confused. The movie had gone well, since it had gone just like it always had. It wasn’t uncommon for the pair to go see the latest chick flick together. Usually it just ended up with Gonta squeezing Hoshi like a glorified teddy bear during the scary parts, but they made it work. The dinner was a little awkward, but by the end of the night Gonta was feeling pretty confident in his success at this first date.

 

But with Hoshi it’s never simple. Gonta walked him up to his room, and by God, he was going to make this a perfect date, kiss at the door and all. He and Hoshi lived in the same building, like most of the ultimates did, but he was still going to make this romantic as possible. Just as they got to the door, Ryouma sighed.

 

“Y’know, Gokuhara, we’re really close. It’s… funny, I guess, that a killer like me would ever get a friend as good as you.” The word friend sent ice through Gonta’s chest. Though the rest of the sentiment was pretty par for the course when it came to being Hoshi’s friend, Gonta had been so sure he’d made it clear he wanted to be more than friends.

 

Gonta reassured him that he did deserve this and so much more, but the message had been pretty clearly sent. Gonta and Hoshi were friends, and were never gonna be more than that.

 

So that left everyone else in the class except for Tenko, Kaede, and Yumeno. He was very handsome (both his human family and the lizards who raised him agreed), but he was pretty sure he wasn’t handsome enough to turn the three biggest lesbians in all of Hope’s Peak. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration. Kirigiri and Celeste, not to mention Sakura and Aoi, had to be in at least the top ten HPA lesbians. Anyways, back to the point at hand. He thinks he can probably discount Shinguji as well, and the rest of Shuuichi’s gang, so that let him with a definitive list that he decides he should write down. He shuffles around in his bag to find his spare notebook. He flips past all of the bug diagrams to find a blank page.

 

On that page, in messy kanji, he writes:

 

_Kiibo_

 

_Kirumi Tojo_

 

_Iruma Miu_

 

He thinks for a moment what it would be like to get a love note from Miu. He crosses off her name.

 

_~~Iruma Miu~~ _

 

_Angie Yonaga_

 

_Rantaro Amami_

 

_Tsumugi Shi_

 

Tsumugi! Gonta thinks, and without really meaning to, he slams his pencil dow against the table. After all, there’s no one else it could be. He looks at his list. Well, she’s really the only likely option. Of course someone who reads as much manga as her would think of something like a love letter. He almost wants to confront her now, but just as soon as he has the thought, the shrill chime of a bell rings out through the halls and as the teacher strolls into the room, and he knows that class has started.

 

He quickly put away his notebook and gets out his math textbook, but all through first period he can’t stop thinking about the note.

 

* * *

 

“What? I never left a note,” Tsumugi says, stuffing a doughnut into her bag. Teruteru had started making these sometime around the middle of second year, and they were delicious. It was always a race to get one at lunch time.

 

She, Gonta, and Hoshi took their regular seats in the cafeteria. Ouma would probably show up later if he decided to grace them with his presence, but now it was just their typical party of three.

 

“Oh,” Gonta said sheepishly. “It’s just, Tsumugi-san seems like the only reasonable option out of Gonta’s classmates, so Gonta sort of assumed…” Tsumugi patted him on the back, and Hoshi chuckled.

 

“It’s ok Gonta-kun! I guess you technically didn’t know, but, I’m a lesbian.” Oh. Well, that made sense.

 

“Then Gonta guesses he just has to run through everyone else on the list,” He says, and pulls out his notebook. He discreetly tries to skip over most of his pages of diagrams (bugs aren’t the only things he draws, and Hoshi is right there across from him), and successfully navigates to his list without revealing any of his more embarrassing lovestruck doodles.

 

Ryouma peers over the table, looking up from his boxed lunch, and says “So you’ve still gotta ask everyone else on that list?” Gonta nods. “Then start with Amami.” Tsumugi tilts her head as if to ask a question, and he simply responds, “Low consequence. I wouldn’t want to go to Yonaga first or anything.”

 

“Gonta will do that!” He says with confidence. And just like that, he gets up and marches over to where the Adventurer is usually sitting. But Amami isn’t there, and Gonta can’t see him anywhere in the room, actually. Was he at class? What day was it?

 

Kaede seems to see him glancing around and says, “If you’re looking for Amami, he set out for Peru a couple days ago. Shinguji can send him a message if you want though.” She points him towards the anthropologist but honestly, Gonta doesn’t have the bandwidth for a conversation with Shinguji right now.

 

When he sits back down in his normal seat with a sigh, Ryouma’s lips turn upwards. “No luck?” He asks. Shirogane kicks him under the table.

 

“Hoshi-kun, be nicer to him,” She scolds, but there’s a subtle look of smugness on her face, like she knows something. “After all, haven’t we all wanted a secret admirer?” She sighs dreamily. “It’s so romantic, like something straight out of a manga.”

 

At this point, Gonta isn’t so sure. Sure, in concept it seems nice, but it must be so anxiety inducing. Gonta couldn’t imagine what it’s like.

 

Tsumugi and Hoshi continue bantering back and forth, and Gonta tries to keep up, but his mind is still preoccupied with wondering who in the world could have left this letter. His friends notice, he thinks, but let him daydream for the time being. Ouma never shows up.

 

The next day, he arrives to find another letter. This one reads,

 

_Gonta Gokuhara,_

 

_I’ve noticed your efforts to figure out who I am. You’ll figure it out eventually. Perhaps I’ll even build up the nerve to confess to you in person. Or perhaps I’ll ask you to meet through letters._

 

_This was never the point of these notes, though. The point of these letters is to let you know that you are such a bright force in my life. You make me smile even if I don’t want to, and there’s not a single thing about you that I dislike. You are beautiful, smart, athletic, graceful, and you do all of that without even knowing it. You put yourself down for your upbringing, but really you’re one of the most knowledgeable and intelligent people out there. Thank you for putting up with me for so long so I could bear witness to the wonderful storm that you are._

 

And once again Gonta is baffled.

 

He asks Angie, and she says she isn’t sending them. She has a knowing look on her face, and she says she’ll give him a hint later.

 

The day after that, there’s both a letter and a forget-me-not on his desk in the morning.

 

It’s on the one week anniversary that someone first questions Gonta about it. It’s the second day of February, close enough to Valentine’s Day that plausible deniability is still within his grasp.

 

Kiibo starts with, “Gokuhara-san? It’s about the…” and Gonta already knows what they’re going to say. They’re in the halls between classes, and in all honesty, Gonta really needs to get to English. But the robot has cornered him by his locker, and he doesn’t want Miu to come after him for manhandling Kiibo. “It’s about the love mail.”

 

“Ah, yes, Kiibo-san?” Gonta replies hesitantly. He hadn’t expected Kiibo to be the one to do it, but from the looks Kiyotaka had been giving him all week, he was in some sort of trouble.

 

“The Student Council wanted me to let you know that they’re considering it a disturbance and that they’ve alerted the class that any such mail in the future should be sent to your mailbox.” Kiibo fidgets with their faux coat sleeves. “That way you can also send mail out. Ishimaru-kun says that any further disturbances will be sent to the principal.” Kiibo has the decency the look a little sheepish, but Gonta hadn’t expected something so tame from the students under Kiyotaka’s reign. Apparently, Ishimaru was even stricter with his council members, much to their chagrin. Kiibo mutters an apology under their whatever the equivalent of breath is for robots.

 

“It’s alright, Kiibo-san! Gonta will just check mailbox in the mornings now. Thank you for telling Gonta!” He says with false cheer, because it’s three minutes until the bell and English with Mr. Nesshini is across the building.

 

Kiibo pivots out of the way, and waves as Gonta rushes past them. Gonta was supposed to have this book report written yesterday and like hell was he going to turn it in later than it already was.

 

* * *

 

Although it’s kind of a hassle to walk all the way to Ms. Ita’s to get his mail each morning, Ishimaru’s decree gave him a way to communicate with his secret admirer. He had left a note in the “Outbox” that very day and apparently they had gotten the message (both figuratively and literally,) because it was gone the next morning. He didn’t get a letter that day, but he made two copies of the letter he sent, since he might need it for reference or something. His letter went like this:

 

_Dear Secret Admirer,_

 

_Gonta sort of can’t believe you exist! You say many kind things in your letters, but Gonta is not sure if he deserves such high praise for everything he does. However, you make Gonta’s day so much better when you leave your gifts and notes._

 

_By the way, is there anything that Gonta could give you in return? Gonta feels guilty only taking your gifts without ever giving something back!_

 

_Sincerely,_

_Gonta Gokuhara_

 

He waits a day and on the 4th of February there’s an envelope in his mailbox. He opens it before he’s even sat down at his desk. Kiibo stares at him and he can hear Hoshi snort from the back of the room.

 

Hoshi has been in much higher spirits recently. Gonta’s not really sure why, but apparently Tsumugi and Angie do, as well as Kaede and Shuuichi. They’ve been acting very knowing for the past week or so, smiling at Hoshi, and Gonta is happy to report that often enough Hoshi just smiles back.

 

Also, with this upturn of mood, Gonta has an excuse to stare. Listen, that sounds really creepy, but really Gonta just wants to look at the former tennis pro for as long as possible without being questioned about it. Really, though most call him a gremlin (Miu, namely) Gonta thinks he’s just as pretty as any of the other boys in class.

 

Anyways. Back to the task at hand. When had he let his mind wander like this? Jeez, he needs to get focused. What was he doing?

 

Right. The letter.

 

_Gonta Gokuhara,_

 

_Rest assured, I exist. I’m as real as any of your other classmates. I suppose it must seem surreal, to get a letter out of the blue like that. I apologize for any doubt I could have caused._

 

_To cut straight to the point, I was wondering you’d be willing to meet up with me, or at least tell me if you reciprocate my feelings. I wanted to do this slowly, and not in person, just to ease you into the idea of my affections._

 

_If you’re not comfortable telling me, that’s fine. I’ll wait for as long as I need to. I just don’t want this to become a “Do you like me: yes or yes” situation. Take your time._

 

And then Miu and Kokichi walk in as the bell rings, so Gonta is forced to give it some time, like it or not.

 

* * *

 

Gonta thinks about it. He finally comes to a decision on the 9th of February in Mr. Nesshini’s English class when he really should’ve been learning the proper way to use the word whom. He writes the letter when he gets home that night, which is actually kind of late, considering the eventful afternoon he’d had. Tsumugi had made him come to the anime club she had started, and while he wasn’t opposed to anime or anything, he hadn’t watched any since before he went to his forest family. How on earth was HE supposed to know what “Danganronpa” was?

 

That had taken up a couple hours of his time, then Nekomaru had wanted to rope him into another sport, and he had had to talk his way out of that. It had been tiring to say the least, but he was determined to get this done tonight.

 

He grabbed a green pen and his notebook and started writing.

 

_Dear Secret Admirer,_

 

_Gonta thought about it, and Gonta is so so sorry, but there’s someone else that Gonta likes. Unless the person behind these letters is Hoshi, then Gonta is going to have to refuse._

 

_Gonta really is sorry! Gonta has nothing against you, it’s just, it would feel wrong to go into a relationship with someone when Gonta’s whole heart isn’t in it._

 

_Sincerely,_

_Gonta Gokuhara_

 

He signed his name, and just because that felt too formal, drew a small scarab beetle in the margins. He re-capped his pen, folded the paper up, and pulled open his desk drawer. He debated using a pink envelope, but maybe that would get his admirer’s hopes up, so he settled on a pastel green. He chose one of the Bananya stickers Hoshi had given him (mostly because he was trying to get rid of them,) and sealed the envelope shut.

 

He glanced at the clock, and seeing the time realized it was probably best if he get his sleep. He changed into his pajamas, brushed his teeth and settled into bed for a good night’s sleep.

 

His dreams were full of cats, beetles, and maybe a love suite, but if you asked him he’d never admit it.

 

He waits over the weekend, restless and anticipatory.

 

Monday morning, Gonta confidently marched into school and made a beeline for the mailboxes. He slotted his letter into the Outbox and checked for any mail, and when he didn’t find any, simply went to class. Gonta Gokuhara was a man free of worry.

 

That’s not say Gonta wasn’t feeling apprehensive about his secret admirer’s reply and/or feelings. He certainly was, but he was also feeling fantastically relieved that he wasn’t burdened with any more love mail. It was emotionally taxing to be confessed to over and over in a series of several letters!

 

He slid into his seat. Tsumugi was already in the classroom, and she turned in her seat to face him.

 

“So, Gonta-kun, did you decide what to do about,” Tsumugi paused. “You know. Love mail.”

 

“Gonta told them the truth. Gonta decided it was for the best,” He replied. Tsumugi scooted her chair closer. Her eyes flickered behind him, and she looked kind of uncomfortable, but Gonta didn’t pay it much attention. Sometimes Tsumugi acted kind of strange for no reason.

 

“...And so what did you tell them?” Tsumugi says, leaning on the back of her chair to get closer. She said in sort of a whisper, as if she didn’t want anyone to overhear. That made sense, he supposed, it was a personal matter.

 

“Ah, Gonta just said that there was someone he liked and that it wouldn’t feel right to date anyone else.” Tsumugi blinked and sat up straight.

 

“You like someone?” She exclaimed. Gonta raised an eyebrow. He glanced behind him to his left. It was… unusual, to say the least, for Hoshi to be this late. Yet the former tennis pro was not in his seat. Gonta assumed he didn’t need to keep his crush on the down-low, since essentially anyone with eyes knew that he was pining. Shuuichi had asked him literally three days into second year if something between him and Ryouma had changed over the summer. (It hadn’t, not really, Gonta just discovered that he liked life a lot better with Hoshi in it.)

 

“Yes? Gonta has liked Hoshi-kun since 11th grade.” Tsumugi looked shocked. “Gonta thought you knew.” Tsumugi sighed and pushed her glasses into her forehead.

 

“Gonta-kun, what day is it?” Well, that wasn’t the question Gonta expected her to ask.

 

“It’s the 12th, Gonta thinks.” Tsumugi’s sigh turns into a smirk and she pushes up her glasses. They seem to flash dramatically, and Gonta’s not really sure how the cosplayer is able to do that on command.

 

“Wait until Wednesday,” She says simply, and before he can get in a word she raises up her arm and waves, yelling, “Ah! Hello Hoshi-kun!”

 

Hoshi sidles up to Gonta’s left. He leans on the desk, and it’d probably be more dramatic if it weren’t nearly tall as him.

 

“What’re you two up to this morning?” He asks, but it’s clearly directed at Tsumugi’s over enthusiastic greeting.

 

She smiles innocently and says, “Oh, nothing!” before turning around to sit right ways round in her seat. Hoshi shakes his head and sticks his hands in his pockets.

 

There’s a small smile on his face that Gonta wishes he could keep forever.

 

Hoshi turns to him and mutters, “Somethin’ up with her this morning?” and Gonta shakes his head. “Gokuhara, I have a… request for you.”

 

“Hm? What is it, Hoshi-kun?”

 

“Would you mind meetin’ me in the garden for lunch on Wednesday? If you don’t already have plans that is.”

 

Gonta pulls himself together quick enough to say “Ah! Of course!” but he is reeling. Well, Tsumugi was not wrong about Wednesday. Did Hoshi ask him on a date? Is this a date? Hoshi usually hates going into the public garden this time of year. The flowers are beginning to bloom, and a violently allergic Ryouma is not a good sight. He also claims that he hates that he can’t get any work done there either, since it’s always full of sappy couples. It’s certainly out of character for Hoshi to want to spend time in the garden. Gonta personally loves the public garden, since it’s full of bees nearly year round, and he takes every chance to visit that he can get. It’s on school grounds, so the Ultimate Gardener is nearly always out there. Yumina is still reluctant to let him anywhere near the more delicate blooms, but she isn’t nearly as confrontational as would be necessary to get him out of her area.

 

“Alright. See you at lunch today,” Hoshi says with a parting smile, strolling back to his seat. Miu says something to him quietly enough that the white noise of the other students covers it and he pulls his hat over his eyes.

 

He turns to face the whiteboard. Ouma turns and wiggles his eyebrows. Gonta ignores him. The bell rings.

 

* * *

 

It is Wednesday, February 14. Gonta Gokuhara is sitting on a bench that Angie painted blue her first year as a project to brighten up the school. He’s watching a ladybug crawl across his slacks, too afraid that if he moves he’ll disturb it. He has his lunch with him, plus a couple chocolates he received earlier that day. He is waiting for Ryouma Hoshi, who was supposed to be here 5 minutes ago.

 

The sun is high in the sky, and he’s wondering if Hoshi is going to be here at all when from behind him comes a voice.

 

“Gokuhara-kun. Sorry for being late.” Hoshi takes a seat next to him. He has a paper in his hand that Gonta thinks he recognizes, but one can hardly distinguish between generic lined paper so easily. “So,” He says, turning to face Gonta. He reclines against the armrest of the bench and lifts the paper in his hand. “I got your letter.”

 

And the Gonta realizes where he recognizes it from. The green penmanship, the doodled insect. Hoshi is currently in possession of a letter he sent to his secret admirer. Gonta gapes at him, and tries for a second to remember what exactly he wrote. It dawns on him that if Hoshi has this letter, maybe it was him who sent Gonta all those notes.

 

“Hoshi-kun… How did you get Gonta’s letter?” He asks, just to be sure, because there’s always the possibility that someone gave it to him. It wouldn’t be all that unlikely, considering that fact that he had literally confessed his love for Ryouma on that letter. Shit. What if this is a confrontation? What if Hoshi took him here to tell him never to talk to him again? Hoshi chuckles and for a moment Gonta’s worries disappear, because how on Earth could someone like Hoshi do anything so malevolent when he was simply too kind.

 

“You addressed it to me, Gonta.” Oh. Wow, ok, maybe he should be focusing on the fact that Ryouma just confirmed that he was Gonta’s secret admirer, but he really liked the way his name sounded on Hoshi’s tongue.

 

Gonta fumbles for a second, and says, “So, does that mean Hoshi-kun is…” but Hoshi gets the message.

 

“Yeah. I was the one who sent all those letters. Meant them too, just so you know.” Hoshi fiddles with his cigarette, except today it’s not a cigarette but a lollipop. “Thought it was appropriate that I at least wait until today to confess. It’s cliche, sure, but I thought I might as well go for it you know? Since essentially everything I’ve been doing recently is cliche.” Gonta could tell by how Hoshi was rambling that he was nervous, but why today? It was the 14th, was there. Ah.

 

“Valentine’s Day,” Gonta says more to himself than anyone else. Hoshi nods.

 

“It’s a funny thing to get a letter that’s turning you down because the person writing it loves you. It was sort of a shock, that you’d be so upfront with your feelings. But the more I thought about it the more I realized,” Hoshi smiled and closed his eyes. “We’ve both been fools.”

 

“So Gonta likes Hoshi,” Gonta says, because he really, really does, “and Hoshi likes Gonta.”

 

“Yep.”

 

“So…” And Gonta pauses, because this really wasn’t the outcome he was expecting. “Would Hoshi like to get dinner with Gonta this Friday?”

 

And Hoshi nods, and Gonta sighs, and they both make idle conversation and eat their lunch.

 

The dinner goes well, and Gonta knew it would, because he takes Ryouma out to the same place they went before. Ryouma laughs, and says it’s sort of a make-up for his not knowing it was a date the last time. This time, they do kiss at the door. Gonta’s never been happier.

 

Tsumugi is happy for them. Ouma teases Gonta relentlessly, but never really takes it too far. Angie says that Kami-san already knew. No one else seems to notice a change.

 

The next date goes just as well as the first. As does the next, and the next, and the next.

 

Third year ends. The graduation ceremony passes. Gonta gets a doctorate in Entomology. Ryouma gets parole, and eventually a pardon from Ishimaru. Gonta gets a teaching license. Ryouma gets a cat that he names Roger and that sleeps on Gonta’s pillow.

 

Gonta is (officially) voted teacher of the year at the University. Ryouma is (unofficially) voted coolest guy who shows up sometimes with coffee and might be married to Professor Gokuhara.

 

Life goes on.

 

* * *

 

 

 

There is a letter on Gonta’s desk when he arrives at school on Monday morning.

 

He smiles. This must be why Ryouma left early that morning. The letter is white, and it sits face up in the center of his desk. There’s a small ladybug sticker keeping the envelope closed. When he turns it over, it has his first name on it in Ryouma’s neat writing.

 

Gonta puts his bag down and takes a seat. None of his student have arrived yet besides a young black haired girl who always arrives 30 minutes before he does. She reminds him an awful lot of Kiyotaka.

 

He peels off the sticker sealing the envelope with practiced ease. There are two papers. The first is on a sticky note. The writing is in familiar, blue rows, and the note reads:

 

_Found this while looking around at the old stuff from Hope’s Peak. Thought you’d get a kick out of it. Most of the stuff still rings true, honestly._

 

_\- Ryouma_

 

He takes out the second paper. The letter inside is folded perfectly precisely and Gonta wonders what in the world this is going to say. He carefully unfolds it and starts reading.

 

_Gonta Gokuhara,_

 

_You are one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. You are passionate in all you do, and lovely every moment you do it. I may not be much of a poet, but you are brighter than the sun and every day I spend with you is a perfect one._

 

Gonta laughs. He remembers this letter clear as day.

 

_I wish I had the courage to tell you these things in person, but I’m a coward. I hope that someday you’ll come to love me the way I love everything about you. Your smile turns me inside out, and every time you speak to me I feel so lucky that I even know you._

 

And then it ends, just like he knew it would. He refolds the paper and puts it in it’s envelope. How times have changed since his partner first left him an anonymous confession in 12th grade.

 

Times have changed, Gonta knows, but sometimes he still feels like a kid, honing his talent and hanging out with his friends. He’s young yet. He has people around him who love him. He has pupils and friends and mentors.

 

Gonta Gokuhara is living a life he could have only imagined in Hope’s Peak. He may not be as successful, or as famous, as his former classmates, but he’s happier than he’s ever been.

 

His students trickle into his class. It’s an early morning class, and he feels sorry for them, but he’s excited for today’s lesson. He’s almost always excited for the lesson he’s doing that day. However, he skipped out on coffee this morning (a bad habit he picked up sometime in college), and he was a little sleepy. He almost wants to call Ryouma and have him deliver a mocha, but just as soon as he has the thought, the shrill chime of a bell rings out through the halls and as the last stragglers scuttle into the room, and he knows that class has started.

 

He puts away his letter and turns on the projector, but all through today’s lesson he can’t stop thinking about how far they'd come.

**Author's Note:**

> \- hope you enjoyed!
> 
> \- ch'boy spent like 3 days straight on this and then didnt proofread it
> 
> \- u can find me on twitter n tumblr @ shslprisoner !! i shitpost and sometimes draw
> 
> \- i have a hades n persephone au and MAYBE a fangan on th way.......... eyes emoji
> 
> \- remember to link cement and survive! i seriously love all the nice comments i get hsdfgsdfh...... even if i dont reply i Lovw you


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